Valtteri Bottas has defended the US-UK split in the Cadillac Formula 1 operation, insisting the team does not see its structure as a weakness.
The American squad is in its maiden F1 season, and is enjoying the luxury of multiple bases in Silverstone, Indianapolis and South Carolina respectively.
Bottas, teammate Sergio Perez and brand-new Team Principal Marcin Budkowski have all recently lauded the former, amid rumours of a shift away towards its US hubs.
Otmar Szafnauer, who previously led Aston Martin and Alpine, stated on the High Performance Racing podcast that dividing design, aerodynamics and simulation work between the three would handicap the team if its goal was to win a World Championship.
But Bottas, asked in Baku whether the split would always leave Cadillac at a disadvantage, rejected the suggestion.
“There’s a reason why the team is doing that,” he said. “I don’t think we would do anything that built a structure that we think is a weakness. Obviously we don’t think it’s a weakness.
“We think there’s a strength on the US-based side. There’s lots of knowledge about motorsports at GM, different categories.”
The Finn pointed to General Motors’ plans to build Cadillac’s power unit in the United States as a key part of the team’s long-term vision.
“We think it’s the ideal setup to get the best of both worlds,” he said. “The current existing Formula 1 world in the UK, and then some fresh views from the US. So we don’t think it’s a weakness.
“But again, time will show.”
Szafnauer also claimed that Cadillac executive engineering consultant Pat Symonds had told him the setup was “only suboptimal if you want to win the World Championship”. Symonds has previously said the team built its operation in the UK out of necessity, with the aim of eventually moving everything to the United States.
Cadillac entered Formula 1 as the sport’s 11th team this season, with a Silverstone base handling key manufacturing and logistics. A manufacturing facility, wind tunnel and simulator are under construction in Indianapolis, while GM’s power unit project will be based in Charlotte, North Carolina.
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